Because of irony, Why First? seems like the ideal game to discuss at the outset of New Game Stuff. Resembling the now out-of-print Magical Athlete racing game, Why First? favors those who come in second. Players will lay down movement cards to propel them around the track, but will have to strategically attempt to lag behind other players in hopes of coming in second.

Put on your black eye shadow and run an electric current through your hair to get your Tim Burton on! The Nightmare Before Christmas edition of Munchkin is here! In a ghoulish twist on the classic game, players will arm themselves with a vampire teddy, the Mayor’s badge, and bat hat, and charge into battle on Santa’s sleigh. Become a citizen of Halloween Town, Christmas Town, Thanksgiving Town, or Easter Town. Try to banish foes such as Oogie Boogie, Doctor Finkelstein, and Lock, Shock, and Barrel!

You may want to stay away from pyres, but outside of that The Village Crone from Fireside Games (Castle Panic) can be a rewarding experience. Ever wanted to put a curse on an annoying acquaintance? Ever wanted to get ahead in life through magical means? Well, The Village Crone satisfies those urges. A worker placement and resource management game at its core, one to six players will attempt to met certain win conditions by mixing potions and cursing townsfolk.

The Pathfinder Adventure Card Game expands its characters options this weekend with two new character decks. First up, is the Paladin Class Deck, which includes a new version of Seelah and two brand new Paladin characters. Second, we have the Monk Class Deck which also includes a new version of Sajan plus two other Monk characters. Finally, the fifth Adventure Deck for the Wrath of the Righteous adventure path, which is the penultimate deck.

TMG had a hit with the dungeon crawl dice game, Dungeon Roll, and now they’ve taken that formula and applied it to a push-your-luck format. For two to six players, Dungeon of Fortune approximates a descent into a traditional dungeon, full of loot. Players will compete with each other to collect great shares of gold and coins, that will increase the deeper you go.

Arguably the most shiny expansion for the Firefly board game yet, Kalidasa is the second rim space expansion set to be released. In this expansion, players will receive a new section of gameboard that physically extends the game’s play area. As well, a new ship model called The Operative’s Corvette is included alongside two new contacts (Magistrate Higgins and Fanty and Mingo).

Indiana Jones would tell you these artifacts belong in a museum, and as the owner of your own archaeological company in Artifacts, Inc., that’s exactly what you’ll attempt to do. An up to sixty minute playtime dice rolling game for two to four players, Artifacts, Inc. has players rolling dice (which represent adventurers) in order to place them onto cards (that require specific numbers) in order to gain cash and favor with museums.

Staying in the realm of tombs and buried treasure, Valley of the Kings: Afterlife is out this weekend. The second expansion/stand alone addition to this Egyptian themed deck building series, Afterlife can be played with one to four players or added to the original to facilitate six player play.

As there can never be enough games that feature everyone’s favorite elder god or a deck building mechanic, Cthulhu Realms combines the two in a cheap, quick to learn package. Putting a spin on the traditional deck building scheme, Cthulhu Realms allows players to chain cards for a great payoff than if they played them individually. As well, each box contains a special promo character that can be played in the game.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has been combined with zombies before, but never with the mechanics of a card game. Well no more, because the Kickstarter funded Marrying Mr. Darcy card game is on shelves, as of last week. In this literary role-playing card game, players take on the roles of female suitors from the novel, building up their romantic appeal in order to woo a handsome suitor. You’ll attend balls, receive proposals, and cunningly outwit your opponents all in an effort to avoid becoming an old maid.

A possible contender for the minimalist card game spot held by Love Letter, Tides of Time is a card game that consists of only eighteen cards and plays with only two players. Players try to build grand civilizations by combining a set of complimentary cards in their kingdom, while also attempting to sabotage their opponents plans. After three rounds, each player will have either a memorable empire or a pitiful group of random ventures.

A completely standalone addition to the previous Discoveries release, Discoveries: The Journals of Lewis and Clark requests that you get your explorer on! In the game, players will take on the role of either Lewis, Clark, or two of the other members of the famous expedition. Over the course of sixty minutes, players will then compete to collect cards that represent scientific discoveries (as well as victory points). To do that, players will need to roll dice to gain exploration actions.

I think we can all agree that pandas are cute. And more pandas equals greater cuteness. Such is the theory behind Takenoko Chibis, the first expansion for the popular panda gardening game. Pairing this expansion with the base Takenoko game, players will gain a handful of new objectives, new plots (including the discovery of the gardener’s cabin), and an additional figure named Miss Panda. Miss Panda, as well, has the ability of delivering baby pandas, increasing the levels of cuteness to a nearly unbearable degree.

The Dungeon Roll Legends Hero Booster Pack #2 provides eight entirely new heroes to be mixed into the popular dungeon crawl dice game. These heroes, however, are far beefier than any of the previous heroes, so make sure to play them against each other or in a situation where other players are looking for a challenge.

Deus is Latin for God, making it a perfect name for the new hand management where players pray to their society’s deities through offerings. Deus begins with players receiving a hand of five cards, randomly featuring one of six colors. Each color represents a resource (military, trade, temples, etc.), which is then used to construct buildings in honor of the gods. These buildings are placed on a variable board (whose dimensions are decided by the number of players) in order to acquire points and gain victory.

The boundaries of the popular Tasty Minstrel Game release, Village, continue to grow. Village: Port is the newest expansion for the game and it is a sizable one. Not only does Port give players the option of boarding a skiff and sailing the seas in order to find buried treasure, but also new life goal cards that allow players to choose career options for their characters.

It’s taken Steve Jackson a bit of time to get another Chez Geek expansion out on the shelves, but, to be fair, the game is about who can be the laziest. Like a slacker cousin to the popular Munchkin franchise, Chez Geek has players earning slack points for doing as little as they can. Slack to the Future, the creatively titled expansion that hits shelves this weekend includes fifty-six new jobs, friends, food, and activities that can be used to acquire “slack” in the game.

While it may not be as insane as Sealab 2021, AquaSphere is still a frantic game of underwater area control. Players compete to collect data regarding the ocean. Every player controls a team of researchers (comprised of a scientist, engineer, robots, and submarines) across to halves of the game board (a lab and headquarters). Gathering knowledge points moves you closer to winning and to do so players must expend actions to observe octopuses, expand your lab, or increase your team’s abilities.

Hanabi, among the most popular cooperative games on the market, gains a deluxe edition this weekend. Deluxe Hanabi plays exactly like the original, with player working together to create a fireworks display. The trick is that each player can see everyone but their own fireworks, requiring everyone to describe and hint at what each other has. The Deluxe Hanabi edition replaces the standard cards with Mahjong tiles, reflecting the Eastern influence and setting of the game.

A fool and his money are soon parted, as they say, however you’re no fool if you pick up a copy of A Fool’s Fortune.

In the tradition of Rummy and other set-building card games, A Fool’s Fortune from Rio Grande Games elicits a tarot vibe as it has players deciding the fate of their opponents and themselves. As you and up to two friends select and play cards, attempting to build a perfect set, you’ll run across special fortune and character cards with special abilities. Play them right, and you may just win A Fool’s Fortune.

Monkeys combined with just about anything usually results in both comedy and destruction. Taking advantage of that equation is the new Spin Monkeys board game from Rio Grande. A slew of bumper cars have been dropped into the jungle, only to be found by a pack(?) of simians. With that in place, players attempt to spin their monkeys around the board, using rotation cards, trying to gather fruit and attack other monkeys. If you hit another monkey, then you get to choose where they spin next. As you might imagine, humor and destruction follow.

It’s been zero days since an incident at the Monster Factory. Let’s all try and keep it that way, hmm?

From the creator of Kingdom Builder and Dominion comes Monster Factory. This family friendly tile laying game of monster creation. Simple to learn, gameplay revolves around players placing specialized, illustrated tiles, each with a piece of monster body on it, in hopes of completing the largest monster. However, if your monster is left unfinished by the end of the round, you lose.

Continuing to live up to its name, Innovation: Figures in the Sand is the newest expansion to the popular card game and it continues to advance the gameplay mechanics of the series. Instead of the cards in this expansion being representations of inventions or concepts, this time around the cards are famous historical figures. That means Albert Einstein or Napoleon Bonapart could come to your rescue or, if you’re unlucky, to your opponent’s. Dogma powers here are replaced with Karma, an ability that alters the course of the game by changing rules. For instance, an instruction to give cards to another player may become an instruction place them in the center of the table. Decree cards have also been added to the game, accomplishing the same effect as achievements, but with the caveat that they can be stolen.

Let me ease your worries, Village, the new tactical board game from TMG, has absolutely nothing to do with M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.

No, instead players take part in a strategy heavy, turn-based game of tactics that covers the length of the village residents lives. As you play, you will carefully choose where and how your peasant characters make a living and earn their keep. Will they be a part of the government? A clergy member? A farmer? It’s up to you, but realize that no matter what profession you choose, they all are accountable to the ticking clock of life. With time not on your side, you’ll have to strategically balance your time and actions for the most benefit. Or find yourself in a shallow grave.

Greek gods can never just sit down and have a calm, relaxing cup of tea together.

Since that’s the way of things, Athena and Hades are the two combatants in the new Mythic Battles miniature board game. Each god controls a sizable army of soldiers, monsters, and demigods, pitting them against each other on a field of battle. Before the fight commences, though, each player gets to assemble their army however they choose. Once that’s done, players activate their forces with battle cards, then roll dice to complete the interaction. This combination of cards, dice, and miniatures creates a new system called Building Battle Board gaming that is exclusive to Mythic Battles.

Black Friday is not a day for words, but for action. In that spirit, here is the least wordy edition of New Game Stuff you will ever run across.

Game Mastery has deposited in our laps two new wonderful accessory products. First being the Magic Academy Map Pack. It’s maps for the Magic Academy, nothing more to say.

Second is the Warehouse Flipmat. Again, self explanatory.

Also on the quick mention list is the new Small World: Tunnels mini-expansion. This allows you to combine the boards for Small World and Small World Underground. But you will have had to purchase a copy of either game at the store to get it.

Super Dungeon Explore is happy good time fun! Amendment to that last part: especially if you’re an avid fan of 8-bit games and dungeon crawling.

Combining the two, Super Dungeon Explore has players selecting a party (like from a video game select screen) then exploring a multi-roomed dungeon collecting treasures and bashing monsters. Coming with some absolutely snazzy looking cartoony miniatures, if you’ve got two or more players, this game will supply a good time.

Thinking about getting into Warmachine? Well, much in line with the Assault on Black Reach box for Warhammer or the Beginner Box for Pathfinder, the new Two-Player Battle Box has everything you’ll need for two folks to get into the game. That “everything” includes a rules primer, dice, ruler, and 17 miniatures between the Khador and Protectorate of Menoth factions, along with their stat cards.

Put your elves, dwarfs, and gnomes to work in the worker placement game known as Belfort. This quaint fantasy burg needs some reconstruction, which luckily each of the previously mentioned creatures are uniquely able to provide. Gnomes can run the city, dwarfs can supply wood, while combinations of these guys can result in other point-earning activities. From Tasty Minstrel Games (makers of Martian Dice), who have been producing some addictive games of late, Belfort could be considered a Carcassonne on crack.

Heading back to the world of Warmachine, the new Hordes: Domination rulebook brings the new freshness. Including new rules and information on warlocks, the Hordes saga, and new Theme Forces. Keep pace with the cool kids and pick up a book!

Speaking of books containing dark, deadly, bleakness, here’s the new Deathwatch: First Foundry hardcover. This book contains a lot of nines. Nine Space Marine Loyalist chapters. Nine Traitor Legions as well. There’s also four chapters left out of the previous Deathwatch editions. Futuristic pessimism has never looked so good.

Finally, we end on the first expansion for the popular Quarriors! dice/deck building game. Rise of the Demons introduces 20 new dice and the corruption mechanic (think curse cards in Dominion) where players attempt to clog up their opponents dice bags with a bunch of useless corruption dice. It’s on now, peoples!

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